For a Pessimist, I am Pretty Optimistic

…was exactly what I said when Netflix recommended me the musical “In the Good Old Summertime” starring Judy Garland.

Apparently, there are FIVE versions of the story:

1.       Parfumerie (also known as “llatszertar”) - a Hungarian play written by Miklós László in 1937

2.       The Shop Around the Corner  (1940) - black and white movie starring Margaret Sullavan and Jimmy Stewart

3.       In The Good Old Summertime (1949) – MGM musical starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson

4.       She Loves Me  (1963) - Broadway musical that had revivals in both New York and London during the nineties

5.       You’ve Got Mail (1998) – romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks

The basic original story: Two bickering co-workers who can’t stand each other in real life don’t know that they are each others secret pen pals who refer to each other as “Dear Friend”. Inevitably, they plan to meet and it does not go well. The male lead sees the female lead through the window of a café and instead of saying that he is her pen pal, he teasingly prods her, resulting in her insulting him to the point that he storms out. Thinking that her “Dear Friend” stood her up, the female lead becomes depressed and cannot go into work the next day. The male lead, realizing he’s been quite a jerk, consoles her and begins a sort of friendship with her, all the while still sending the anonymous letters. At the end of the film, the female lead is on her way to try to meet her “Dear Friend” again and the male lead tells her that he has met her pen pal and that he is old, fat, and bald. Disappointed, the female lead confesses that she was always attracted towards the male lead to which he confess his love for her and that he is her pen pal and all is well!

After discovering this, I simply had to see as many versions as I could and compare them. I would have loved to have seen She Loves Me for an extra musical comparison, but the show has been long closed. Instead, I took out all three movie versions from Netflix.

     The Shop Around the Corner (1940) is praised for the two leads having excellent chemistry, but I don’t think they were put in enough situations to really display this. Sure the scene where they snipe at each other in the café is hilarious and they are cute and charming at the end, yet while at the store they didn’t really interact that much. Still, saying they had chemistry in this film is nowhere near as ridiculous as when everyone said Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan had wonderful chemistry in Sleepless in Seattle; a film where they weren’t onscreen together until the final few minutes! On another note, I found it amusing that I had no idea the film took place in Hungary except for when they referred to money as the pengo.

Final thoughts: cute story never-the-less, a great supporting cast with their own storyline going on, and it’s always a pleasure to watch a movie with Jimmy Stewart.

     In the Good Old Summertime (1949) is one of those musicals where the numbers are simply put in just to pass the time. Unfortunately, I abhor these types of musicals; I prefer the songs to help the plot move along. But Judy Garland of course has an amazing voice and her bickering with the male lead, Van Johnson, is cute. Most of the story remains the same except for the facts that the movie took place in a music shop in Chicago at the turn of the century. I also could have done without the added “cute meet” at the beginning of the film where the two leads literally crash into each other and can’t compose themselves after several tries, but that’s just the cynic in me talking.

Final thoughts: still cute (since it’s the same story), excellent performances all around, but I’d rather watch the original.

     Obviously, You’ve Got Mail is not as true to the original as the other versions were, but I couldn’t help but like it and trust me, I tried hard not to! I was pleased with the way it was modernized, yet certain lines and scenes (such as the dreadful meeting in the café) stayed almost true to the original. I’ve heard many complaints from those who are fans of the original and I think most of the complaints are just silly.

One person said they thought that You’ve Got Mail was too political correct, but how were the other films so un-PC? In fact, the musical version (as most musicals do) changed the story in slight ways just to cheer it up a bit.

Another person complained that the ending was to drawn out in You’ve Got Mail. While it is true that the timing could have been better, I preferred that it took time for the female lead to warm up the male lead. I’d find it highly improbable if the day after he put her store out of business, she realized she was madly in love with him. Plus, I liked that the male lead had to work at gaining her affections – no need to make everything easy on his after all her had done to her!

The most common compliant is that the two leads were in relationships while they were in contact with each other. Someone even said it seemed “sleazy” of them. Besides the fact that neither was in a relationship they really wanted to be in (something that is quite common today and in the past), I thought it showed exactly how innocent emails can unintentionally turn into something more.

Final thoughts: Secretly optimistic cynics like me will prefer this version, but all true romantics at heart should stick to either the original or the musical.

I’m sure this is the millionth time I’ve said this in my posts, but I always hated visiting my dad in the summer. Several years after he and my mom divorced, he moved to Miami, Florida which was supposed to be all sun and fun. It was anything but! Seriously, if they say that Florida is God’s waiting room, then my dad’s apartment complex must have been the examination room. Hmm…so does that make “check-out” the part when you hand the billing clerk your chart?

It wasn’t until the second summer that my dad developed a friendship with one of his co-workers, Dale that my summers became fun. Thank goodness for Dale; she had so much positive energy packed into her pixie self. Even as a child, I was aware of my over-active imagination and constantly felt like I was being humored by adults. With Dale, I felt like she was genuinely listening and genuinely enjoyed my company because of me, and not simply because I was a child. When she passed away several years later, I was crushed. She hadn’t told any of us that she had a heart condition, so there was no way to give me a ‘sick relative prep talk’.

 Almost everything she owned had been left to my dad. Most of what he was able to keep (Dale’s place had four bedrooms, my dad’s only two) went into his spare room which I slept in during vacations. So now besides the scattered fishing equipment, I had in my room Dale’s piano (my favorite instrument despite my lack of skill), bunches of stuffed cats (my favorite animal), and lots of purple décor (my favorite color).

Another influence Dale had was helping me to fall in love with classic movies. She owned stacks of videotapes, mostly classic movies. And I mean stacks, there was no other way to fit them in the room without stacking them on top of the other from the floor until they touched the ceiling (my current memory says that it was at least 15 columns). Each one was numbered and Dale had typed up lists, one alphabetized by title and the other in numerical order. I was partial to the comedies and musicals in color. For some reason, my little self had been conditioned by the Wizard of Oz to think that black and white meant boring.

With a recent subscription to Netflix and the addition of TCM in HighDef to my cable plan, I’ve been trying desperately to watch every movie that I had seen while pining away in Florida. Even with a jaded adult perspective, I’m still charmed by them. My husband hates to watch them with me, he complains “Ugh, that story has been done already,” No, I tell him; all of these were done first!

It’s because that I’ve known they were done first that I think little me took too much stock into the underlying morals. Sure, some have worked out for the best (such as I will always look both ways when crossing the street to meet my love at the Empire State Building) but others just don’t, and shouldn’t, apply to real life. Here are some others that have come to mind recently, along with actual nonsense conclusions little me had come up with…I’ll let you guess for yourself which is which!

1.       You can wave your finger in front of a bear’s snarling mouth and it won’t maul you (Turnabout).

2.       No one will recognize you if you put your coat collar up (any film noir movie).

3.       Becoming pregnant is all the man’s doing (My Blue Heaven).

4.       A pair of glasses and a baggy sweater equals ugly, even for Audrey Hepburn (Funny Face).

5.       All you need is a dream and un-wavering hope and you too will score a millionaire husband (practically every Marilyn Monroe movie)

6.       Men didn’t attend college until the were at least 30 (How to Become Very Popular)

7.       There’s “nothing to it” when smoking your first cigarette…not even a cough! (Roman Holiday)

8.       Anyone who lives in a mansion or plantation house is crazy/and or a murderer (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, Sunset Boulevard and Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte)

9.       Having a baby makes everything better! (any comedy about a  bickering married couple)

10.   Leslie Nielsen was hot! (Tammy and the Bachelor)

11.   Even after Eleanor Roosevelt paved the way for women to join the Navy WAVES, you’re still nothing without a man (Skirts Ahoy!)

12.   If a man who’s dressed as a woman gets hit on by another man, the latter is fully aware that they are both men (Some Like it Hot)

13.   The French people and government are stupid (Funny Face, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)

14.   Someone doesn’t love you unless they grab you buy the shoulders, press their cheek hard against yours, and hold it there.

My mother’s second marriage when I was 9 years old did not please me. Besides the fact that my step-father and I never really got along (mostly because we’re both too stubborn for our own good), I had to move. That meant leaving my grandmother’s large house for a small condo and thus, leaving my personal playground. My grandmother’s house was so much more than a house. The living room was a stage to act out everything from I Dream of Jeannie to even Thundercats. The tiled basement was a dance studio for tap dancing i.e. clunking around. The patio was where Cinderella would sing to herself and sweep up the leaves (much to my grandmother’s pleasure). And of course, the backyard was for running across the English moors with Heathcliff.

However, my grandmother’s house did not include my step-father’s super secret den (super secret because I was not allowed inside). Any time he and my mother were either asleep or out of the house, I would sneak in and gawk at his random collection of things. Some of my favorites were a plastic monkey filled with pennies, a bunch of colored beaded necklaces in a cup that said “Mardi Gras ‘88”, and his collection of teaching aids that contained comic book versions of Shakespeare’s plays.  Yet my absolute favorite was a framed poster of the entire genealogy of English royalty, which contained the family tree of the Tudor Dynasty.

I was fascinated with learning about the Tudor court; it was more exciting than anything I could imagine! I grew particularly attached to the story of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife. After spending 10 years changing the laws and creating a new church so he could divorce his first wife and marry Anne, he finally marries her only to accuse her of treason and behead her when she does not produce him a son.  She’s been likened from a whore, to an incestress, to a witch. Interestingly, Anne’s only daughter, Elizabeth I, became one of England’s longest reigning monarchs.

Besides Anne’s story, there is so much more drama that went on in the Tudor family. Love, betrayal, sex, murder…sounds like your typical soap opera. Which makes it no surprise that Showtime took notice and produced their original series The Tudors. Yet despite having practically an already scripted story, things were changed around. Characters were missing, new ones were created, and why do all the men have such modern haircuts? The final insult was when I learned that the actress who played Anne Boleyn, a petite brown eyed, brown haired spitfire, was portrayed by a blond haired, green eyed actress who spent most of her time showing her heaving bosoms.

Going with the new trend of The Tudors, historical fiction about King Henry VIII was prominently displayed on bookstore shelves, amongst them being The Other Boleyn Girl. It tells the story of Mary Boleyn, Anne’s sister.

There isn’t much known about Mary besides bare facts.  Both Mary and Anne were sent to the royal court of France. Rumors about Mary’s lack of chastity circulated and she was sent back to England. Despite being married, she was seduced by Henry VIII (they may or may not have an illegitimate child). Her affair with the king ended as abruptly as it started. Anne returned from France and Mary remained in court as her companion. Mary’s husband died while Anne was being courted by the King. After Anne and the King married, Mary requested their permission to marry a commoner. Anne and the King balked at the idea and banished them from court. Mary then lived out a quiet life in the country, never to return to the court again.

Of course this was not the exact story that the book presented. But even though the novel contained many (and I mean many) inaccuracies, I reminded myself that it was historical fiction and wasn’t surprised at its growing popularity. Despite some wariness, I was excited when I learned that a movie version was being released. Natalie Portman was properly cast to play Anne and my confidence in the movie grew. Then the trailers were released. After watching just 30 seconds of footage, I was infuriated. From what I had seen, the script didn’t even follow the premise of the book. Fiercely I swore that I would boycott the movie and not watch or learn one single thing about it. I held up to my vow…until today. I couldn’t help but read a few reviews which then led me to reading a few spoilers which now leads me to this desire to scream. Allow me to share some things that could just not go unnoticed:

1.       “Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson) becomes a pawn of her family’s ambition and is seduced by King Henry VIII (Eric Bana).  While pregnant with his child, Mary’s sister Anne (Natalie Portman) starts to turn Henry’s affections away from Mary and towards herself.”

This is one of the inaccuracies from the book that I was hoping they would change. In an attempt to get the reader to sympathize with Mary, they had to portray her as the “good” sister. To do so, one of the things the author created was that Anne “stole” the king away from not only his wife, but also her pregnant sister. Yet, I find it interesting that Anne was able to do this all the way from France. Anne lived in France since early childhood and did not return to England until years after the king lost interest in Mary.

2.       “Afraid of the King’s anger and the chance that he too will divorce her or worse, Anne asks her brother George to help her in fathering a new child.”

This is by far the most annoying accusation that Anne received. It’s a historical fact that this was untrue. They say that George’s wife, jealous of his lack of interest, created this lie in a testimony against Anne. It has been speculated that her words were twisted by council, but in any case it was her testimony that allowed the court to condemn both Anne and her brother.

The movie includes a scene where Anne and George attempt sex, but then he backs out of it. Yet another scene completely made up, as the book was written from Mary’s point of view.

3.       “Shortly before Anne’s execution, Mary goes to beg for the life of her sister. The King reassures her that Anne will be spared but as Anne is standing on the scaffold, Mary receives a letter from the King telling her that Anne will not in fact be pardoned and Mary, for her own safety, should never speak of these matters again.  Heartbroken, Mary watches as her sister Anne is beheaded. “

Adding this scene was just a pathetic excuse to give Scarlett Johansson more screen time. Besides not even being in the novel, Mary would have had to astrally project herself all the way from Rochford for this to have occurred. And even if she did posses this power, I highly doubt she’d risk being persecuted as a witch and being executed herself.

As I mentioned earlier, she was exiled out to the court. She did not dramatically beg for the king’s favor. She didn’t even come for the execution of her two siblings. She stayed far and away and safe – which she had to do for the safety of herself and her children…no matter how close she was to her condemned family.

(By the way, I refuse to acknowledge the ending of the movie that shows Mary raising Elizabeth I as a child)

I just don’t understand these so-called historical movies. Most of the time the real story is always more than enough to hold an audience’s interest. There’s no need to add! And if they really feel that they must, then why don’t they just give it a new title and simply call it fiction?